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Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:04 pm
by FutureisFintech
Hi all,
I'm very curious about non legal career paths, other than compliance, post Big Law. What are some of the typical non legal options that a: (1) junior associate (1-2 years) and/or mid level associate (3-5 years) would have after working in a practice group, like M&A, in a V10 New York firm?
Do your options depend more on your undergraduate background/work experience or will your practice group experience be more indicative of your choices? I realize this question may be a bit broad, but I'm interested in seeing if there is a typical route that lawyers who do this choose to take.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:02 pm
by The Lsat Airbender
What are some of the typical non legal options that a: (1) junior associate (1-2 years) and/or mid level associate (3-5 years) would have after working in a practice group, like M&A, in a V10 New York firm?
None, given the bolded. This is a unicorny/non-traditional thing to do. Would mainly hinge on your non-law qualifications: if you have a nice coding portfolio/résumé you can probably exit law to go back to software whenever you like; if you worked in [Industry] before law school and maintained professional connections you might be able to go back; etc.
This is one of the main reasons behind the "don't go to law school" advice people give 0Ls: once you get the JD, you're fairly securely railroaded into the practice of law. Overqualified for entry-level positions, under-/non-qualified for midlevel positions, and too golden-handcuffed (or simply debt-handcuffed) to retrain.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:18 pm
by Anonymous User
Also interested - but I think a better way to phrase it might be what the most realistic or possible non-legal exits are? Or at least predominantly non-legal...
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:51 pm
by The Lsat Airbender
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:18 pm
Also interested - but I think a better way to phrase it might be what the
most realistic or possible non-legal exits are? Or at least predominantly non-legal...
Without any specifics I'd recommend someone learn to code and go into tech. We're literally just talking about "jobs that exist" so people's recommendations are mostly going to reflect their own biases/experience/preferences.
Specifics that you'd want to delineate:
- Pay/prestige expectations (if no such expectations then the answer is "Amazon delivery" or something; you could make a lot of money roughnecking in the Dakotas but I assume that's not what OP had in mind)
- Definition of "non-legal" (there's lots of legal-adjacent but non-lawyer jobs people end up in: compliance at a bank, or research at a litigation funder, etc., but those are generally not what is meant by "Non Legal Business Role" which implies an actual operational role at a business with P/L responsibility etc.)
- Willingness/ability to move across the country, go back to school, and/or pay your dues in the entry-level process of another industry
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:58 pm
by Anonymous User
The Lsat Airbender wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:02 pm
What are some of the typical non legal options that a: (1) junior associate (1-2 years) and/or mid level associate (3-5 years) would have after working in a practice group, like M&A, in a V10 New York firm?
None, given the bolded. This is a unicorny/non-traditional thing to do. Would mainly hinge on your non-law qualifications: if you have a nice coding portfolio/résumé you can probably exit law to go back to software whenever you like; if you worked in [Industry] before law school and maintained professional connections you might be able to go back; etc.
This is one of the main reasons behind the "don't go to law school" advice people give 0Ls: once you get the JD, you're fairly securely railroaded into the practice of law. Overqualified for entry-level positions, under-/non-qualified for midlevel positions, and too golden-handcuffed (or simply debt-handcuffed) to retrain.
Agreed.
OP you would need to get your MBA from a top school (like the M7/T15 schools) and look to pivot. But even then, some industries are blocked off for you because of lack of prior WE in those fields.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:03 pm
by Anonymous User
I am in house now; spent about 7 years at large firms prior to that. There are two paths that you have.
One is the “unicorn” path mentioned above, where you get lucky and lateral directly into a banking position or something. Very difficult but not *completely* unheard of for someone with the right background to move into banking or (even more rarely) other finance positions, and I suppose other direct non-legal jumps could be possible, too (besides something like compliance). Definitely don’t plan on this.
More common than “unicorn,” though still not super likely, is what I see at my in house job. Every once in a while, an attorney will really get close to a business unit during the course of their career, a position at the right level will open up, and the attorney will end up slotting into the business unit role. You still need some luck here because a lot depends on the right spot opening up at the right time, but with solid networking and putting in the extra effort to go beyond the scope of most in-house jobs, definitely possible at many places.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:13 pm
by Mullens
Most common exits from law firms seem to be (1) legal recruiting and (2) insurance brokers (for R&W insurance). Neither seem like great jobs to me but those are def the most common in my experience.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:15 pm
by HLS1983
Maybe check out consulting as well. You might have to network your way to an interview, but I think that’s a viable transition if you can learn to crack case interviews.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 1:53 pm
by Anonymous User
I was at a v5 and I have seen people go into (and I myself went into) management consulting, banking, hedge fund trading, business operations roles at startups and corporate development roles from the firm as junior to mid level associates. Generally, people didn’t have the “non legal” background that would make them an obvious candidate for these roles but if people think that you are smart and hard working, they may be willing to take a chance on you. It’s also definitely easier if you have either a personal connection via your network to help smooth the transition or if you work at a top firm.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:45 am
by Anonymous User
I know a couple people who left biglaw after a year or less to do policy at major corps. But they had really unique credentials (HYS, relevant work experience, etc.)
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:15 am
by Pomeranian
Unless you have prior background before law, you probably won't be taken seriously in many business roles as a lawyer. You may have to get an MBA to pivot.
Re: Transition from BigLaw to Non Legal Business Role
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:55 am
by Inhousefuture
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:03 pm
I am in house now; spent about 7 years at large firms prior to that. There are two paths that you have.
One is the “unicorn” path mentioned above, where you get lucky and lateral directly into a banking position or something. Very difficult but not *completely* unheard of for someone with the right background to move into banking or (even more rarely) other finance positions, and I suppose other direct non-legal jumps could be possible, too (besides something like compliance). Definitely don’t plan on this.
More common than “unicorn,” though still not super likely, is what I see at my in house job. Every once in a while, an attorney will really get close to a business unit during the course of their career, a position at the right level will open up, and the attorney will end up slotting into the business unit role. You still need some luck here because a lot depends on the right spot opening up at the right time, but with solid networking and putting in the extra effort to go beyond the scope of most in-house jobs, definitely possible at many places.
What type of industries is the Firm-> In House -> Business role trajectory most possible/least unlikely? Going beyond the scope of most in-house jobs in what way? Do in-house jobs often allow you to get a taste of business type work or at least watch business people up close in action?
Thanks